Neyen Malbec 2016

Neyen Malbec 2016, 13%, Apalta, Chile (c £50) I wasn’t supposed to taste this wine. The producer was supposed to send another wine. But somehow it was this very particular Malbec – just one of 762 bottles made – that ended up being despatched. Serendipity, I guess you’d call...

On no-alcohol wine

Did you know that the winners of the FA Cup, one of Britain's biggest sporting events, now celebrate (and dutifully spray each other) with non alcoholic sparkling 'wine' rather than champagne? It's a small detail, a pub quiz oddity if you like, but it made headlines...

Clusel Roch Traboules 2017

Clusel Roch Traboules 2017, Coteaux Lyonnais, France (£12.67, Justerini & Brooks) Clusel Roch is an excellent producer best known for its excellent northern Rhône reds, including some delicious Côte Rôties.  This Traboules is an intriguing and utterly delicious oddity. It's from the south of the little-known Lyonnais appellation, not...

Decanter Retailer Awards 2019

Wine's brilliant. So selling it must be easy, right? Wrong. It's a crowded market. Brexit hasn't helped. Consumer confidence is low, we have a fluctuating currency and a punitive tax regime. On top of all this, people are drinking ever less. All this means we need our best...

New wave UK wine

'We believe English still wines have the potential to challenge Burgundy.' Let's consider that statement for a moment. Yes, it's hardly disinterested because it was said by an English wine grower (Ruth Simpson of Simpsons Wine Estate in Kent). And yet the Simpsons also make wine in...

Frappato Syrah Terre Siciliane 2018

Passo Mastro Frappato Syrah Terre Siciliane 2018, 14%, Italy (£6.99, Lidl, *from 21st November 2019) This cheery, upbeat Italian red is a blend of Frappato with Syrah from Sicily. It was one of the better value wines on show among the 30-odd Lidl wines at this tasting – though...

Chilean Pinot Noir tasting 2019

'If there's one thing that gets wine lovers hot under the collar, it's great Pinot Noir. As for the Holy Grail - well, that's great Pinot Noir at a bargain price.' This Decanter panel tasting revealed exactly that - some outstanding Pinot Noir from Chile at...

Rabl Gruner Veltliner 2018

Rabl Grüner Veltliner 2018, Kamptal, Austria, 12% (£9.50, Marks & Spencer) There was a time when the Grüner Veltliner grape variety was touted as the next big thing that was going to take over the wine world. It hasn’t really happened. Notwithstanding, it’s still a great grape to get...

Maury 1928 Solera

Maury Solera 1928 Cask 849, Les Vignerons de Maury, 17%, France (£19.95 for 50cl, Berry Bros & Rudd) The day after Kantar published research indicating a third of Brits wouldn’t countenance paying more than a fiver for a bottle of wine, I popped into Berry Bros &...